100% depends on where you work. If you work at a small resort on the EC, you're probably not working yourself stupid. If you work at a resort with a ton of terrain to control, limited resources and inadequate staffing, you're earning your measly check.
I've had a lot of jobs, from carpentry/remodel, to Electrician Apprentice, to day laborer, to LDAC/mentor/activities director at a live in treatment facility, to managing a busy resort town retail clothing store and working fulltime patrol at 12,000ft and above in regular 40mph+ wind days is by far the most demanding job I've ever had.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job and it's incredibly rewarding and gratifying for dozens of reasons, but it isn't close to an easy job. There aren't many jobs where you have to wear so many different hats and one minute can be lowkey and the next be total pandemonium.
For one thing, at my mountain, patrol doesn't tell people to slow down or play any sort of "mountain cop" role whatsoever outside of enforcing terrain closures due to avy danger. Another thing, I don't know where people get this idea that all patrol does is schralp unopen terrain. Couldn't be further from the truth. I spent 2x the time digging up snow fences and running toboggans last year than I did skiing.
Patrol is an amazing job, but we do work hard (most days...) and we aren't paid anything and we're all just passionate skiers like you guys. I'm sure some people gravitate towards it for some less than honorable reasons and want to flex some sort of authority, but those people in my experience are by far the minority.
Not to mention, outside of full-time EMS/ER, not many people deal with the sorts of things that patrol deals with.
